DST sanctioned Rs 7.25 crore to IIT Mandi to setup a Technology Innovation Hub

On March 11, 2020 the Department of Science and Technology (DST) sanctioned Rs 7.25 crore to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi, Himachal Pradesh to set up a Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) at the institute under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS).Focus of TIH

• Main focus of TIH is on human-computer interaction (HCI) research where  projects focus on design & development of computer technology (interfaces) & the study of interaction between humans (users) & computers
• It also focuses on human resource & skill development, entrepreneurship & collaboration with other leading institutions & some of the technologies will focus on solving problems of the Himalayan region.

Key Points

i.TIH to develop tools, education material, hands-on experiments with specialised tool kits, connecting with existing innovation ecosystems & also to organize Several workshops & seminars.

ii.The institute aims:

• To develop a technology interface for challenges concerning landslides, environment (including climate change), air pollution, agriculture, cybersecurity, defence forces, healthcare, & forensics
• To collaborate with universities and organisations in India and abroad as well as create a startup ecosystem in the field.

TIH to work on the development & evaluation of  interfaces of CPS:

i.TIH to also work on the development & evaluation of  interfaces of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) , a Internet of things (IoT) based, which contains physical elements like sensors for collecting data & cyber elements for alerting/educating people for directed action.

ii.The data collected from CPS will be evaluated by human experiments & cognitive models for training & to improve decisions of the human stakeholders for better outputs.

iii.CPS is  a new class of engineered systems that integrate computation &  physical processes in a dynamic environment.

iv.CPS encompasses technology areas of Cybernetics, Mechatronics, Design &  Embedded systems, IoT, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI) among others.

About Himachal Pradesh:
Capital- Dharamshala (in winter), Shimla (in summer)
Chief Minister– Jai Ram Thakur
Governor– Bandaru Dattatraya